Promoting therapeutic communication and patient-centered care using standardized patients.

This article describes an assignment designed to incorporate the Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN) competency of patient-centered care into a simulation activity aimed to improve therapeutic communication skills in psychiatric nursing. During this pilot activity, students engaged in an interaction with an actor trained to portray an individual with mental illness. Students viewed their video-recorded interaction to identify communication techniques used and completed a self-evaluation examining their strengths and areas for improvement. Faculty and actors provided feedback to students during a faculty-led debriefing held to discuss the use of therapeutic communication and care focused on the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary to provide quality patient-centered care. Desired learning outcomes included the demonstration of therapeutic communication and assessment skills, empathy and caring, and addressing patient values, preferences, and beliefs. Copyright 2013, SLACK Incorporated.